FRUSTRATION
I got my CPAP and have used it two nights. I have a mask that is just below my nose --- so I assume that is called a nasal mask. When trying to sleep --- and while wearing the thing, I don't think I have slept at all --- every 15 minutes air blows out of my mouth. So trying to sleep did not happen ---
The second night --- needing sleep I threw the mask off after 33 minutes so I could sleep.
Can't get in to see a therapist until Monday. I know I should use the embarrassing thing but I also need sleep.
I am so frustrated I can't see straight. --- and I'm tired.
RE: FRUSTRATION
Hi colthoff,
I'm a newbie to the forum but been on CPAP for a year and a half. I'm still learning thanks to the great and knowledgeable people here. But I wanted to mention something about your comment with respect to "embarrassing." When I first started cpap therapy, I felt the same way. I thought it was embarrassing especially when I went to work with that faint line on my face from my head gear. But I learned to get over it as my health improved and I adjusted to the therapy. Now, I could care less what my face looks like and when I'm asked about that faint line, I tell it like it is; I'm a hosehead.
I'm travel frequently for work and I always take my cpap with me. What struck me right away was the number of people I saw traveling with cpap machines. I would recognize other passengers carrying the same cpap travel bag and when we made eye contact, we would give each other that "knowing" nod. There are way more cpap users out there then you realize.
My son is a security screener at a major Canadian airport and he tells me that he sees cpap machines everyday. He recently told me about a passenger who didn't want to take his machine out of the bag because "it was embarrassing." My son told the passenger that there was nothing to be embarrassed about and that "my father uses a cpap and refers to himself as a "hosehead" all the time. The passenger actually smiled and asked him that was a true story. Needless to say, a very true story. I don't mean to lecture anyone but I hope you embrace your cpap machine and disregard any embarrassment.
Good luck from one hosehead to another.
RE: FRUSTRATION
You asked what airsense 10 I have --- I don't know. How do you find that out? Also, many posts quote some initials with numbers ie a?l<.8 or some such things. What do all those mean and where can i find those numbers on my machine?
RE: FRUSTRATION
Too early to be frustrated. This a long journey. Just keep in mind that there is a light at the end of this journey.
A chin strap sounds necessary. I used an athletic head/sweat band until I got my official one. You TRAIN yourself to therapy. I have gotten to where I can switch from therapy to breathing/yawning/ talking under pressure. Now I think I could even eat lunch with the mask on. (Not recommended)
Hang in there. Relief does hot happen overnight.
CPAP is a journey like “The Wizard of Oz”. It’s a long slow journey. You will face many problems and pick up many friends along the way. Just because you reach the poppies, it doesn’t mean you are in Kansas.
RE: FRUSTRATION
I inferred it was a nasal mask as I envisioned a mask with a seal to the face on the upper lip. I could be wrong -- might be nasal pillows. Until colthoff gives us more info, it could be either.
The problem he describes would be the same either way.